Magic Number of the Day: -30.2

A shopper with a 2012 Chevrolet Volt in Peoria, Illinois, on March 28, 2012.

That’s the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index for Democrats in the week ended March 25. It’s the highest level for Democrats since November 2007.

The index, which asks respondents what they think about the national economy, the buying climate and their personal finances, was minus 30.9 for Republicans and minus 35.0 for independents.

The index for Democrats was lower than the index for Republicans in each of the seven previous weeks. The Democratic number usually is lower because Republicans “tend to be better off financially,” Langer Research Associates, which produces the index, said in a written analysis.

As President Barack Obama campaigns for re-election, he’s looking to convince as many Democrats as possible to vote for him as a better alternative than his Republican detractors. Democratic turnout surged in the 2008 primaries and in the general election, though Democrats were less enthusiastic than Republicans to vote in the 2010 midterm elections that Republicans dominated.